778
Thwaites Glacier, known as the "Doomsday Glacier," is melting rapidly due to climate change, and its melting could seriously raise sea levels, flooding New York and Miami. He writes about it Daily Mail.
Scientists are proposing radical methods to prevent catastrophic flooding along the US East Coast.
As the publication writes, they suggested installing a giant underwater "curtain", artificially increasing the thickness of the glacier with the help of sea water, or cooling the rocks through which it moves.
One idea is to pump seawater onto the surface of the glacier. It will freeze and increase its thickness. But this method is risky and expensive. The salinity level of the water can affect the structure of the ice, and the rise of the water requires huge energy costs.
Another idea is to create an underwater "curtain" that would block warm underwater currents. The technology requires complex engineering solutions, and the impact on the marine ecosystem is not fully understood.
The researchers also suggested cooling the rocks that glaciers move through, which would reduce friction and slow down their melting. But the project is expensive and also requires additional research.
According to scientists, the disappearance of the Doomsday glacier will also lead to the collapse of the WAIS, the continental ice sheet covering West Antarctica.
The WAIS is essentially an ice bowl that sits in a basin below sea level in West Antarctica.
The Thwaites Glacier is one of those glaciers located along the seaward edge of the WAIS. These glaciers are the only thing that prevents the ocean from filling the basin, melting or displacing its ice.
If the Thwaites Glacier and the WAIS Glacier collapse, it will cause irreversible, extreme sea-level rise that would endanger millions of people and accelerate the melting of other glaciers around the world.
